It's P-Funk royalty in the shape of George Clinton, a musical totem who, since his doo-wop days as a boy in the 1950s through to the funk, soul, psychedelia and rock of Parliament in the '60s and '70s, has woven P-Funk into an enduring message that sounds as fresh today as it did in 1970 when his band Funkadelic released Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow.

The 'Rare Groove' movement as it was branded (70's funky music in the main) was created by Sharpe and friends at London's coolest night spots, and the clothes sold at the Duffer store were all part of a fusion of music and style that became a defining trend for so many designers and artists.

Picture it. The kitchen radio, a glistening hunk of bakelite, its alignment of valves producing a sound that commanded attention. You're a kid busy hanging onto your mother's skirt as she cooks the evening meal. It's a moment of inspiration.

Take a look in HMV and tell me what you see. For while the conveyor belt of the craven book publishing world rolls on, the art world preens and lumbers in search of the next concept, and our once glorious world of music has had its guts ripped out by the internet. Yet the musician persists in his efforts to have the cloth-eared hear his songs.

It is here in Milan, far north in the Bel Paese [Italy, the "beautiful country"], that a cultural pragmatism has attracted those of a more refined musical streak. And it is at Biko, a club not far from the throng of the city centre, that Trio Valore has convened to play to a Milanese crowd intent on devouring live music as would they their mammas' pasta e fagioli. It's a crowd of stylists who want to dance, and they do.

Think of Sly and the Family Stone, Dexys Midnight Runners and The Specials. Then think again, because the clue's in the name. Their sound is a fine blend of all that has come to pass, from the blues and early R'n'B, all the way up through to soul and ska and the new wave, so theirs is a solid musical grounding.

Music is a huge part of my professional life and I'm lucky enough to spend most of my waking day listening to music or working with musicians. Since there are few greater gifts than music, I thought I'd showcase 10 acts that have made a real impression in the past few months.

Petite and lithe, Carleen Anderson took the stage in a black gown and launched into a 90-minute set of jazz and gospel at the legendary London jazz club, and such was her vocal power, that in an instant we all forgot the ephemera of the day just gone.

A love of live music pervades the club, rather than the sweaty media ambition of the mainstream, whose godheads can be identified as the millionaire prefab boy bands who some of us have learned to avoid.

'We're a gigging band in Scotland,' Andy Clucas tells me. 'We started as an acoustic band back in the winter of 2007, and a lot of people told us we had a Dexys [Midnight Runners] sound, probably because our sound is...eclectic.'

This vibrant raucous second single from the 4-piece band Benin City does just that with a massive cherry on top! Named after the Nigerian state capital, this London-based band consists of the members: Theo Buckingham (drums), Faye Treacy (Trombone/BVs), Tom Leaper (Tenor Saxophone/Samples/Synths) and Joshua Idehen (Vocals). Although they have only been going since 2009, the tight musical chemistry as demonstrated in their material since then, and this current single, is second to none and really inspiring to hear from such a "young" band.

To paraphrase a well-known British songwriter, he's got a pick in his pocket and it makes him a player. Nigel Price, one of the leading lights of the UK funk and jazz scene, spoke to Jason Holmes about his taste in music and how devotion to the guitar transformed his life.

On a March evening in London's West End as a bitter wind swept through emptying streets, a coterie of men and women convened at the Borderline Club in the shadow of Foyles bookshop to pay respect to a burgeoning musical talent from Sweden.

I encounter truly remarkable people in my life on a daily basis, people that inspire me with their values, morals and beliefs. People who always go the extra mile in everything they do, good people. These people are the ones I really appreciate, yet will they ever get the plaudits they deserve?